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If you are 5,000 subscribers today and plan on being 5,000 subscribers next year, this article is not for you. If you already have 65% of the houses passed in your franchise area with 60% high speed data penetration and 25% phone penetration, then this article is not for you.

If you are a small or mid-size cable company and are looking to grow your subscribers and revenue, keep reading. When most small and mid-sized companies think of a billing system they think about a glorified accounting package that gets a bill from your office to your subscribers. A Tier 1 billing system is NOT simply software. It is a collection of processes and software that have been developed over a long period of time to support the largest companies in our industry.

An effective and efficient billing system becomes the cornerstone to a solid financial foundation. It is ready for you to grow in regards to the number of subscribers or the services you offer. It is also the center of your data. It holds information on your subscribers, where they live, the equipment they have, technicians’ notes as well as the call history details.

For decades, most of the major phone and cable companies have outsourced their billing operations to third party billing service bureaus. As we all know, as cable companies have rolled out new service offerings such as triple and quadruple play packages and advanced features such as video-on-demand and mobile video their billing operations have rapidly become more complex.

The decision to outsource the billing function is most often driven by a need to reduce operating costs, but in reality, a better billing system is a competitive advantage.

What Is A Tier 1 Billing Solution?

As mentioned earlier, a Tier 1 billing solution is an entire set of billing systems and processes that are utilized by large franchise and satellite companies, i.e. Time Warner, Comcast, Charter, Dish Network, DirecTV, etc. A Tier 1 vendor generally is one of the largest and most well known in its field often enjoying national or international recognition and acceptance. A Tier 1 billing solution has been tested and proven. You and your subscribers are not the guinea pig.

Top 10 Reasons To Choose A Tier 1 Billing Solution

1. Research and Development budget equaling millions of dollars annually

2. Future proof your organization

3. Round-the-clock/24×7 customer care for your subscribers

4. Convergence solutions to bring new services to market quickly

5. Robust reporting to give you the data to make better business decisions

A Tier 1 billing provider will typically spend 10% to 15% of their annual revenue on research and development. This is $40 million dollars + for each of the largest providers in our industry!

As a small or mid-sized cable company you don’t have a budget for mistakes. You don’t have a budget for billing experiments. You need the system to work day one. With a Tier 1 billing system the probability is great that a larger company has already proven any solution you are considering for your business. They have gone through the expensive initial development process and you are simply able to enjoy the fruits of their labor.

In addition, a Tier 1 billing system will take the time to determine the most efficient way for a particular process to work. For example, what is the absolute fastest way to take a triple-play order? Millions of dollars have been spent on this question alone.

Future Proof Your Organization

Tier 1 products touch more than 90 million North American customers and balance billions in client accounts receivable to the penny each month. They have a reputation for unsurpassed quality in its service offerings. The reality is that because these systems are used everyday in some of the largest cable and satellite operations their commitment to quality is constant. They have been around for years and are going to be around for many more. The software is regularly updated and there are plenty of resources available for questions.

Round-the-Clock Coverage

In today’s fast paced world, 24/7 is becoming the standard. Your subscribers demand it and you have to deliver it. Each client interaction, whether it is for technical support, billing or sales requires whomever answers the phone to know quite a bit about your business and, in many cases, the various previous interactions with that particular subscriber.

A Tier 1 billing solution incorporates what customer service has to do in the meticulous design of the user interface. They make sure that your customer service representative is able to treat each of your subscribers personably, quickly and accurately.

Convergence

When you need to introduce new types of services, flexible pricing plans, and creative offers, a Tier 1 billing provider offers proven solutions that help you bring them to market quickly. These solutions are designed to support convergence from the ground up. When you work with a Tier 1 billing partner, you can easily enter new lines of business with confidence while leveraging your existing billing and customer care investment and infrastructure. As you read this you can be sure that somewhere out there one of the mega-franchise operators is testing an interface between the newest greatest product you haven’t heard of yet and their Tier 1 billing system. Maybe the product won’t sell. Maybe it will. The benefit for you as a small or mid-sized operator is that if you decide the product will sell you can be reasonably confident that the interface is already built.

Multiple Forms Of Accurate Reporting

Over a Tier 1 billing provider’s history effective reports have been developed by many of the most successful cable and satellite operators. You need a solution that enables you to monitor and track subscriber behavior in order to conduct analyses that will allow you to better serve your subscribers.

Your billing solution should include many standard reports as well as the ability to conduct ad hoc reporting and analysis such as general or detailed operational analyses to report critical performance information. These reports will allow you to concentrate on how to use such data to make informed decisions.

Proven, Pre-Integrated Solutions

Because Tier 1 billing systems work with larger operators, solutions are extensively tested before they are released to market. In addition, because the Tier 1 provider has the capacity to support millions of cable customers nationwide, the ancillary products have been designed to equally scale within these parameters. In short, what you need works.

Cost Savings

The issue of total cost of ownership of a customer care and billing system is a critical element in managing overall costs. Economies of scale represent one of the most important elements in managing these costs. While economies of scale in pricing can be experienced with packaged billing solutions, they are not usually experienced until the software manages a very large number of end customers.

In contrast, a Tier 1’s outsourced solution manages and invoices millions of subscribers every month. As a result, these providers already experience significant economies of scale in its outsourced billing operations.

Scalable Technology

Tier 1 billing providers think in terms of millions. They want you to be successful and to grow to your maximum capabilities. Because of this their entire systems are designed to scale to 100 million+ subscribers. With a Tier 1 solution, you simply don’t have to worry about hitting a wall with any part of your solution.

Marketing Tools

As a communications provider you already know that the monthly statement is one of the most consistent channels you have to communicate with your customers. It is also the opportunity to begin a real conversation with your customers; a tool that can help improve revenue, decrease customer care costs, and increase up- and cross-selling of new services.

When you outsource your billing, the vendor needs to process each statement, billing insert, letter and notice according to strident quality and accuracy standards. They should offer statement and invoice design, formatting and printing; archival services, customer letter creation, marketing services, online view and past-due notices.

Workforce Management

A Tier 1 billing system solution has the capability to automate your workforce management. Because these providers support tens of thousands of technicians and thousands of dispatchers, they have the tools you need to maximize your truck rolls and measure your performance. With these tools you are able to tell your customers the exact time their technician will arrive and mean it.

The tools of a Tier 1 billing solution are just manifestations of the best practices and processes that have been developed over years and based on millions upon millions of subscriber interactions.

The expectations of our subscribers are already being set by the competition. By using a Tier 1 billing system you are able to level the playing field and at least have access to the same tools and methodologies they have.

Making It Work: Tips For Choosing A Tier 1 Billing Partner

Whatever course of action you choose to take be sure that the solution meets your business requirements tactically and strategically. If you choose to outsource your billing services, make maximum reuse of solutions already developed and expertise by industry leaders this will help you avoid reinventing the wheel in-house and get you up and running quickly.

Therefore, there are many factors to consider when choosing a billing partner. Here are a few:

1. The billing vendor must have specific domain knowledge necessary to be an effective extension of your organization. Key questions to ask are: What expertise is the vendor bringing to the deal? Do they have expertise in the cable industry? Within their cable expertise, are they experts within specific business segments — such as digital versus satellite?

2. The billing vendor’s product has to be designed for the task. What are the products that will deliver the flexibility and pricing models? Is it the best product available to deliver those capabilities? Also, consider the risks involved, like whose product is it? Is the vendor the outsourcer, or is the outsourcer dealing with someone else’s product?

3. The billing organization’s system capabilities and business practices must be aligned with business goals. Different vendors have different strengths and weaknesses. Cable providers should ask questions such as: What intellectual capital does the vendor offer? What do their offerings look like? Is their organization able to align with my business?

4. Your new billing vendor should offer flexibility in its own outsourcing business model. To structure a deal that will work requires flexibility: What scope and expertise will the service provider utilize? How do you work out a deal that optimizes the strengths of your cable organization with those of the supplier?

5. Is the vendor in question a Tier 1 service provider? Does it perform with Tier 1 reliability and scalability to comfortably support millions of subscribers? Can it be installed to serve a large provider with low cost hardware to support most service providers’ requirements?

6. Am I able to get support for my billing system from a team of experts at whatever time the support is needed?

Here are a few to consider continued (part1http://www.dreamconsultancy.com.au/articles.php)…

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High speed internet was an amazing thing to see in 1995 when Time Warner Cable’s Road Runner service debuted to the public. At that time, the internet was a slow affair for many people who had to struggle through using the new invention with modems that downloaded at 14.4 kilobits per second. Nowadays, thanks to Time Warner Cable Road Runner’s service, people can now download at 15 megabits per second, or 15,000 kilobits per second.

When Did It Come About?

The service, as has been mentioned, came about in 1995 when Time Warner Cable introduced the service to the public. However, at the time it was not known as Time Warner Cable Road Runner, but Southern Tier On-line Community, and then LineRunner, before the name was eventually changed and the character of the Road Runner was officially adopted as a mascot.

What is Offered?

The Time Warner Cable Road Runner service offers high speed internet to anyone with a cable line running to their home. Through the service, they can experience speeds as high as 15 megabits per second in download and one megabit per second in upload, which is a truly fast service. To put it in perspective, to download a 10 megabyte file at 10 megabits per second, it will take 48 seconds. However, to do the same on an old 14.4 kilobits per second modem, it will take nine hours, 15 minutes and 33 seconds. That is a big difference in speed and time. It is no wonder that the age of music download came only a few years after Time Warner introduced its Road Runner service to the public.

Conclusion

The Time Warner Cable Road Runner service is something that was revolutionary in 1995 and changed the way the internet was used for millions of people. Currently, with over seven million users, Road Runner is an incredibly popular way to surf the internet. Users can now download quickly, with little packet lost and enjoy some of the best high speed internet service in the country.

Sadly, it is only the United States that can benefit from the Time Warner Cable Road Runner service, as it was once offered in Newfoundland but is no longer offered there anymore.

If you are looking for a high speed internet service that is quick, easy to use and something that will make your internet experience a joy, then visit the Time Warner Cable Road Runner website today and find out how you can jump into the internet revolution.

It is difficult for many people to visualize that there was a day when there was only three channels to choose from. This came from an era when Americans simply did not spend as much time watching TV. People in this country had more active lifestyles. The general public got out more. Peoples lives did not center on what shows happened to be on.

Most Americans were pretty much happy with the available options they currently had. They didn’t feel that they had to bellyache about or compare and contrast the channels that they were receiving. Viewers simply either watched channel 3, 10 or 13. Sure, they did have favorite channels but they didn’t get all that saddened if nothing all that great was currently being broadcast. The faithful people merely watched whatever TV programs happened to be on.

As the years flew by, additional viewing options came to exist. The general public eventually began complaining about there not being enough choices for their programming. The situation grew and evolved to a point where Americans began to demand more options. They could even enjoy full featured movies with the invent of cable television.

When cable TV was introduced, American viewers were offered programming that could give the US citizens nearly one hundred stations to view. In some US locations one might even have the ability to receive even more than one hundred channels. Now that there was a much greater variety of stations for subscribers to choose between, they basically just wanted more choices.

Satellite TV was introduced to middle America around 1980, the industry engineered a certain quantity of friendly competition to the cable operators. The budding need for home entertainment was at long last being met and welcomed. Now people could recieve their broadcast television programs or choose a cable television package or side with the great number of stations that are available through satellite TV operators.

The early 1990’s brought on some more merriment when high definition systems and broadcasts were introduced to the general public. It should be mentioned that most of these new technological creations do come with a higher price. It does cost money to be able to get cable or satellite TV reception and even more if you happen to want to make use of the latest advances in technology such as high def or digital video recorders.

Those who definitely want to fully take advantage of their satellite TV services are often quite willing to have to pay the extra fees that will be necessary. If you have ever experienced HD then you most likely had a challenging time retreating to the normal resolution for television screens. Those people who have had the delight of using a digital video recorder have declared that they cannot fathom how they existed without having one.

It is not only the remarkable technology that makes satellite TV systems so pleasing. Simply have a look at the sheer number of quality stations that are available to you. These days people have the ability to sign up for a multitude of movie channels including The Movie Channel, HBO, Showtime, Cinemax and other associated stations. Sports fanatics have more than they can handle with the endless supply of choices that have become available to them. Customers can even get many digital music stations and have them piped right into your living room.

One of the outstanding aspects of satellite TV is the reality that it is such a super deal for what you actually get. Presently, the package costs are getting more and more cheap. The Dish Network and DIRECTV services compete with each other and also with the cable TV operators. Each company wants their slice of the digital entertainment pie but the only way to do that goal is to offer a more desirable service and a more attractive deal. These pricing conflicts are merely one of the reasons why satellite TV is such a remarkable deal.

If you really wish to take pleasure in your satellite TV service then you need to buy a 46 inch flat panel television set along with a first-rate DVR. You’ll want to choose a DVR which offers you a great deal of recording storage so that you can record your list of favorite TV programs and be able to watch them at any time you choose to, commercial free. Naturally, since you have this magnificent entertainment equipment, you will feel the need to sign up for the service that enables you to take complete advantage of your equipment.

You should sign up for a high definition satellite TV package and sign up for the DVR service as well. You should choose a package of stations that includes all of your favorite stations. Go ahead and subscribe to a premium channel. Use the ‘on demand’ features so you will have the ability to enjoy tuning into almost any channel you want, at any time you desire. Go ahead and live it up! For a couple of dollars per day you will be able to have all the entertainment you desire.

What is PHP and what are the advantages of using this language? It is a server side language designed for creation of dynamic webpages. PHP is the fourth most popular programming language in the world and is so widely used because of its numerous benefits. With the help of PHP developers can easily build websites and create web applications which provide content from the server to the end user. Besides, PHP can be easily embedded into HTML.

PHP developers are professionals who are able to develop programs and software by means of PHP programming language. Websites and web application created by PHP developers will greatly improve the representation of your business online. They can successfully deploy any web service like customer management system, perform resource planning and manage complex web applications. There are many reasons to hire PHP developer. Still, when outsourcing your web development to an offshore development company you should make sure that the team of PHP developers you are going to hire consists of top notch professionals.

First of all, when you hire a team of dedicated PHP developers you must make sure they possess all the necessary skills and knowledge to do their job professionally. Wherever the offshore company is located they have all technical equipment required for contacting them without any limitations. You can contact them via phone, or have a chat via Skype, which allows you to learn more about the specialists you want to hire. Once you’ve signed the contract there won’t be any problems with communication in future as most of such companies have special online management systems which allows you manage the development process remotely. You can contact your offshore development team whenever they are in office via email, hold a web conference or talk in different messengers depending on what you prefer. And of course, you will receive regular updates on the projects advance.

What kind of projects PHP developers can successfully accomplish? Let’s imagine that you want to design an Ecommerce shopping cart, customer relationship management systems, web calendars, an online chat application, etc. In all these cases a good team of professional PHP developers can easily get these things done for you quickly and within your budget. Besides, PHP developers have the expertise required to migrate your existing applications to PHP language. Finally, they will continuously handle errors, perform debugging and make upgrades to all running PHP projects, meaning they will be maintaining the system on a regular basis.

If you want to outsource your PHP development, then various offshore development companies are the best decision. There are lots of such companies where you can hire PHP developer and the competition among them is high. It means that they are forced to constantly improve their services while keeping the rates low.

Mobile phones are one of the finest inventions today and have become an inevitable part of our daily lives. SMS or text message service is one of the most useful features in any mobile phone. SMS is the acronym for Short Message Service and as the name suggests, it is used to send and receive short messages across the world between mobile phones. SMS is certainly a rage among youngsters, and has been of great use to those who do not prefer talking over the phone for long hours.

Earlier, text messages were charged, and they were a little expensive. But with the passage of time, when texting became a little addictive, a few service providers started giving out a limited number of free messages per day, and later, that was also revoked. Currently, messages are charged, but the charges are pretty low. Considering the amount of text messages that are sent every day, one could have spent quite a hefty sum on messages. So, the only solution to this is having unlimited messages, free of cost. And this is where internet comes to our rescue. We can use internet to send messages to mobile phones. The service providers provide this for free, which makes the package all the more attractive for the customer.

There are very few mobile service providers who offer free messages for the user. So, what is the need for us to resort to internet messaging? Well, there are quite a few advantages in internet messaging. Internet is much faster than your normal mobile service, and sends your messages swiftly. Typing a message using the keyboard is much more comfortable than using the small keypads in mobiles. You can send messages to a person in any part of the world, for free. This system comes in handy when you need to SMS overseas. Unlimited free SMS are not offered by mobile service providers. You can receive messages in your computer or in your mobile while using internet messaging service. Internet messaging is best for sending bulk SMS.

Paisafreesms.com is a website that offers free messaging service for the users. You can send SMS to any person in any part of India and it will reach him/her in less 5 seconds. That is an extraordinary service that none of its other competitors provide. You can send bulk SMS using paisafreesms.com to all the contacts in your list. Unlike other websites, there is no limitation in the number of SMS that are sent from an account. This website provides additional features that make it more preferable. You can get feeds on news updates and movie buffs. You can also read movie reviews online. You can set SMS remainder or alerts for friends or for yourself. You can play many games, online at paisafreesms.com. You can also check your mails in Gmail, Yahoo or in any other account. So what are you waiting for? Log on to paisafreesms.com using your mobile number and start messaging your friends for free.

There are a ton of drink recipe sites on the web, and they usually brag about have so many thousand drinks, 14 different versions of the Long Island Tea (Long Island Tea #1, Long Island Tea #2, Long Island Tea #3, etc.), and the strongest neon green drink there is. You’ll see a crummy page layout being served from someone’s home computer running on a 128 kilobit DSL uplink connection. There might be 5000 drinks, but at 128 kilobit you may never get past the first thousand.

The search and browse facilities are usually threadbare–you might be able to search by keyword if you’re lucky. Maybe look through a dozen or so categories made up on the spot (Drinks in big glasses, Drinks served in mugs, Drinks served in shot glasses, etc). So if there are 5000 drink recipes, how do you find what you’re looking for? You don’t.

Well, there is hope for you yet in your quest to find the perfect drink recipe and that is a site called LiquorAndDrink (dot) com (see below for the link). First, Liquor and Drink doesn’t try to list every drink in the known universe. You can find some sites that have maybe 20,000 drinks, but only 500 are good. Good luck finding those.

Liquor and Drink lists tested drink recipes that have stood the test of time. Some of the recipes date back to the late 1800s and are just as good now as they were then. These drink recipes have been reviewed by a professional bartender for authenticity, accuracy, and balance (not too sweet, not too tart, etc). You won’t find the tooth-cracking sweet, neon blue stuff that is routinely submitted by college students.

You can rediscover how a Daiquiri is really made (it doesn’t involve a blender or strawberries). Find out how Hemingway (a truly drinking stalwart) liked his Daiquiris, and how many he thought he needed to get good and drunk. Go to St. Kitt’s in the Caribbean to find out how real Rum Punch is made (it’s not like Hawaiian Punch). Discover the Tom and Jerry, a century plus old drink created by the master mixologist himself, Jerry Thomas. Finally, try a Cosmopolitan drink that actually has some zip in it like Cosmos should have.

You can search for these drink recipes by keyword, and you can also your over ten different search criteria such as what ingredients are in the drink, what family of drinks does the drink recipe belong to, and what temperature is it served at. Search using special attributes such as drinks that girls like, classic drink recipes, drinks from the 1970s, drink recipes for Halloween, and drink recipes for the holidays.

All of this information is laid out in a clean web page design and the site is designed for performance, so even over a slow connection you won’t be waiting for pages to load. If you are interested, there are over a hundred reviews of the liquors and mixers that make up the recipes. So you can go beyond the drink recipe to research its ingredients and also the history behind the drink recipe.

Give Liquor and Drink a try…you may find a drink recipe that will become your favorite.

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I had recently read about new way to make money buying and selling currency. Its called Forex Tracer. It is an automated Forex Signaling and Trading Software. The ad states the system works unbelievably well and is 100% legal! It sure got my interest when they said I could make money even while sleeping. Sleeping is something I do well!

This review is based on the fact that I started out 100% green and knowing very little about the Forex market. Like most folks I have read about possible profits in buying and selling different nations currency.

First, lets learn a little about Forex.

WHAT IS FOREX ?

The Foreign Exchange, called Forex market, is the largest financial market in the world, with over $1.2 trillion changing hands every single day. It is many times larger than the New York Stock Exchange.

What is traded on the Foreign Exchange? The easy answer is money. Forex trading is where the currency of one nation is traded for that of another. Therefore, Forex trading is always traded in pairs. The most commonly traded currency pairs are traded against the US Dollar (USD).

The major currency pairs are the Euro Dollar (EUR/USD); the British Pound (GBP/USD); the Japanese Yen (USD/JPY); and the Swiss Franc (USD/CHF).

Because there is no central exchange for the Forex market, these pairs are traded over the telephone and online through a global network of banks, multinational corporations, brokers and currency traders.

BENEFITS OF FOREX TRADING

LEVERAGE: When you trade in the Forex market, a small margin deposit can allow you to control a much larger total contract value. Leverage gives the trader the ability to make very nice profits and at the same time keep the risk of losing your cash to a minimum.

LIQUIDITY: Because the Forex Market is so very large, it is also very easy to sell and turn your trade to cash. This means that by clicking your mouse you can quickly buy and sell.

PROFIT IN BOTH RISING AND FALLING MARKETS: One of the most exciting advantages of the Forex market is the ability to generate profits whether a currency pair rising or falling.

24HRS: From Sunday evening to Friday Afternoon EST the Forex market is open for business.

DEMO ACCOUNTS: These are available so you can practice without the chance of losing any capital.

One of the potential benefits of using Forex Tracer was that it would be up and running in a very short time. This is really true. It was easy to download and install on my computer. I have a DSL but bet it would work as well with a dial up connection.

They go on to state that this software will handle currency buys and sells on Autopilot. I must admit I am tempted to invest some of my hard earned money but for now I am content to test it using a Demo account.

People like me with no experience will find it very easy to understand and use. This software will even place the trades for you.

I had a chance to look at program and also use it. I read through it in 2 hrs and very next day I placed a demo trade.

In the demo mode I have placed a total of three trades for USD/CHF (Swiss Francs). All three would have made me money had I been doing it for real.

It even closed me out automatically in one trade. No wonder they say you can make money while you sleep.

The Forex Tracer software is easy to understand and is reasonably priced.